Athletics have edge, but Angels will get their opportunities

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Not much separates the Oakland Athletics and the Anaheim Angels in the waning days of the regular season.

Both teams are coming off double-digit winning streaks and boast the two top pitching staffs in the American League.

They'll be seeing each other seven more times as they battle for the AL West lead. The first-place A's held a three-game lead over the Angels going into Tuesday night's game.

"It's going to be fun down the stretch," A's third baseman Eric Chavez said. "Every game's going to matter."

The A's won 2-1 Monday in the opener of a four-game series that will affect who wins the division title. It was Oakland's 23rd victory in 24 games. The loss snapped Anaheim's 10-game winning streak.

"You're not going to see too many games decided by five or six runs too much in the last few weeks, so it comes down to clutch hitting and playing good defense," Chavez said.

Oakland's pitching staff leads the AL with a 3.64 earned-run average; the Angels are second at 3.67. The A's lead the major leagues with 17 shutouts; Anaheim has 13 shutouts, the most since it had the same number 10 years ago.

"If we can split with these guys, that would be great," Oakland pitcher Tim Hudson said. "That's all you can really ask for against a team of that caliber."

Tonight the A's will start Cory Lidle, who has started in five of Oakland's past seven shutouts.

"You're definitely aware it's quite possible their staff can shut you down," Anaheim pitcher Kevin Appier said. "They're a solid ballclub, and we're aware of that. We got to be able to counter it."

Mindful of Anaheim's 6-14 start, the worst in franchise history, shortstop David Eckstein refuses to label the current series as make-or-break.

"If you take that approach, you can get too high or you can get too low," he said. "In this game, you got to stay at an even keel; that's why we go back to just one game at a time."

It's been a remarkable season for the Angels, who haven't made the playoffs since 1986. With 19 games remaining, they own the best record (88-55) in franchise history. Anaheim leads the AL wild-card race by four games over Seattle, a team that was running away with the division a year ago.

"Our confidence is at a level that we're not carrying any ghosts of what happened last year," manager Mike Scioscia said. "They're going out there trying to make plays and not worried about making mistakes."

Attendance still isn't what the Angels would expect for a series pitting the two hottest teams in baseball.

Monday's game drew 28,145, and through 72 home games, the Angels have had just 11 sellouts and remain short of the 2 million mark. Club officials expected a sizable walkup crowd for the series, but had only 3,068 walkups Monday.

"It's tough right now, especially with school starting back up, to come out during a weeknight," Eckstein said. "But if we keep playing well, I think the fans are going to come."

Those that do show up are increasingly enthusiastic for laid-back Orange County. The Angels' ubiquitous rally monkey doesn't just show up on Edison Field's big screen; the primate comes out in droves, especially when the team trails late.

And with all of their remaining games against division rivals (seven with Oakland and six each with Seattle and Texas), the Angels could extend their status as the AL's second-best comeback team.

"Pretty much every game is going to come down to the final three innings," Eckstein said. "If you like some good baseball, it's going to be played in the next three weeks."